Friday, June 10 more of Victoria

Breakfast was again at the cafe next to the Ramada. Ardith had what they called Southern Comfort. It included hash browns, buttermilk biscuits, and chicken sausages with creamy gravy.  Jim had a Vegetarian Benny which is eggs Benedict with avocado and tomatoes served with hash browns.  The food was delicious and abundant.

We toured the Craigdarroch Castle this morning.  It was built between 1887 – 1890 for Robert Dunsmuir and his wife Joan. Robert made a fortune in coal and a railroad, having inherited a large sum of money that he used for investments. Robert died before the castle was completed but his wife Joan and his five daughters moved in 1890 and she lived there until her death in 1908.  The castle is 25,572 square feet, has 39 rooms and has 17 fireplaces.  

When we entered, the greeter told us to look up at the 4-story wooden staircase.  She said it reminded her of chocolate bars from below.  Jim also took pictures from above – interesting both ways.

It is filled with beautiful stained glass windows that have symbols connected to the Scottish heritage of the Dunsmuirs, and intricate wood panels and painted ceilings.   

After Joan Dunsmuir’s death the castle has been used as a military hospital,  Victoria College, offices for the Victoria School Board, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and finally as Craigdarroch Castle Historic House Museum. Most of the rooms were furnished in an authentic way for during the time the Dunsmuirs lived there, but a few were shown in their other uses and others were left empty or with temporary displays.

The fourth floor served as a dance hall during its college days.  Some dance cards from that period were on display.

Outside the castle were two trucks from a plumbing company called Royal Flush.

We watched trash collectors in that area abandon their truck, grab small rolling bins from the back of the truck and go into people’s driveways to pick up their refuse.  No ugly cans by the side of the road.  I wonder if the same system is in place in poorer neighborhoods.  We didn’t notice any trash cans at curbs.

The next place we visited was the gardens at the Government House, which is the home of the lieutenant governor.  The property contains 14 acres of formal gardens featuring perennials, herbs, roses, irises, rhododendrons and a terraced rock garden. 

After an hour or so of exploring, Ardith sat on a bench while Jim went off in search of more picture opportunities.  After a short time, he came upon beds of irises.  A minute or 2 later, another guy came and started taking pictures of them.  A conversation ensued and he told Jim that there had been an Iris society convention the previous week.  A lot of volunteer hours had gone into temporary planting for the show, but the weather didn’t cooperate and very few were in bloom for the event.  Today, all but one of 60 or 70 varieties were in bloom.  Most were brand new varieties and would be shipped pack to the hybridizers very soon.

In the afternoon we went to the Abkhazi Japanese Gardens. The house and gardens were built for Prince and Princess Abkhazi.  He was a deposed Georgian prince living in Germany, and they met in Paris in the 1920s.  She was living in Shanghai and they corresponded until both of them were interred in concentration camps.  They each assumed that the other had not survived the war.  Peggy came to Canada and brought the property that now houses the gardens.  She discovered that the prince was alive and living in America.  They were reunited, married, and built the house and gardens enjoying the peacefulness after so much suffering.  Their ashes were scattered in their gardens.

There is a wonderful tea room in what had been the Abkhazi’s house.  We ordered lunch and had a wonderful view of the gardens from our table.  Jim had a smoked salmon open-faced sandwich and a salad. Ardith had tomato and basil soup and quiche containing onions, spinach and goat cheese.  Jim was amazed at the taste of the salad.  Our waitress said that they pick their own greens from the garden every morning.  The freshness came through. We each had our own pots of tea. 

 Ardith’s was a blend that was specially created for the Abkhazis and Jim’s was an orange blend.  Since the meal was so incredibly good, we opted for dessert.  Jim had freshly baked scones with clotted cream and jam.  Ardith opted for the chocolate cake with layers of strawberry and whipped cream.  We were both pleased and stuffed.

This garden also had a plant identification place, but there were only 10 species shown.

There were some wonderful arrangements of plants we often see as well as unusual ones.

Jim was fascinated with a pine tree growing out of a crack in a big rock that seemed like a natural bonzai.

We made a quick shopping trip to replace Ardith’s lost hat and to buy some cards for friends who have lost a loved one.  Jim found a grocery store and bought cheese, crackers and ice cream for a light supper tonight and yogurt, granola and OJ for tomorrow morning.  We were well filled with our late-ish lunch so a snack will do nicely for the evening.